Apparatus for launching revetment mats and cable clamping means therefor



y 1958 J. o. FRERICHS ETAL 2,834,186

APPARATUS FOR LAUNCHING REVETMENT MATS AND CABLE CLAMPING MEANS THEREFORFiled Aug. 16. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 3 1953 J. o. FRERICHS EI'AL2,834,186

APPARATUS FOR LAUNCHING REVETMENT MATS AND CABLE CLAMPING MEANS THEREFOR2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Filed Aug. 16, 1955 INVENTORS; Joli/V o. Maw/cwE/I/?L R #00570 ATTOHNEKS APPARATUS FOR LAUNCHING REVETMENT MATS ANDCABLE CLAMPING MEANS THEREFOR John 0. Frerichs and Earl P. Houston,Memphis, Tenn.,

assignors to the United States of America as represented by theSecretary of the Army Application August 16, 1955, Serial No. 528,855

1 Claim. (Cl. 6138) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec.266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by orfor the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of anyroyalty thereon.

The present invention provides certain improvements for launching orplacement of articulated revetment mattresses which are employed verywidely for inhibiting erosion of levees, dikes, short-lines, or banks ofrivers, streams, or other localities which are subject to water-erosionthrough the action of water currents, waves, and other erosive andweathering forces, the preservation of which locales being importantfrom considerations of flood control, preservation of stream contours,directional flow controls, and many other engineering adaptations. Suchrevetment mattresses are constructed usually of multiplicities ofmassive concrete blocks interconnectedlongitudinally and laterally byflexiblec'ables so that when the revetments are-placed in a selectedlocale, such as a river bank, for example, they will be self-conformingto a substantial extent to the underlying contour of'the'embankment.

The placement of revetments frequently is attended with considerabledifiiculties due to local environmental conditions, and the equipmentemployed for such-place m'ent necessarily is very rugged in character,due to the" heavy weight of the revetment assemblies; However,notwithstanding the heavy masses thereof, launching or placement of therevetment may be increasingly trouble some by upstream edges or sides ofthe revetment'becomingfolded over main portions thereof by swift or:strong water currents, thereby producing a faulty placement or launchingof therevetment, thus resulting in incomplete protection of theembankment, faulty placement of the revetment, and many otherattendantand subsequent difliculties, it being recalled that suchrevetments when once laid are intended usually to be permanentinstallations.

The present invention is designed to provide improved I equipment foruse in the launching of such revetments which enables better control tobe exercised over such assemblies during thelaunching operations,whereby such folding over of upstream edge or side" portions oftherevetments and similar deformations thereof during launching orplacement operations will be minimized or prevented entirely.

The present invention includes also, and more particuarly, an improvedcable-gripping hook which will maintain launching cables of therevetments under requisite tension under launching conditions so thatthe aforementioned deformations of the revetments will not occur, quiteregardless of the velocity and volume of water currents and wave actionsat any given location-to be protected.

Further objects and advantages of the present construction will becomeapparent as the description pro ceeds, and the features of novelty will"be pointed out in particularity inthe appended claim.

As has been indicated above, the" revetments customaril'y employed.comprise: massive concrete blocks: which are connected togetherlongitudinally and transversely by flexible cables until a section ofrevetment of predeter'-' mined dimensions is formed, such section ormattress being interconnected longitudinally and transversely'as theneed may be to form a complete revetment for covering'adesired'area ofembankment or shore-line subject to erosion for inhibiting continuanceof such erosion, the flexibility of the revetment assembly enabling itto be self-accommodating to the contour and irregularities in the localeto be protected. The revetments conventionally are laid by securing oranchoring one end to the top of the locale to be protected and payingout or launching the assembly from the deck of a scow or'bargepositioned off-shore and provided with mechanism for controlling thelaunching cables interconnected with therevetment sections forcontrolling the launching of the revetment.

The equipment of the present invention will be understood more readilyfrom a consideration of the accompanying drawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is adiagrammatic view of a flexible revetment mattress being launched from alaunching barge and controlled by the use of the improved cable-clampinghooks of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the flexible revetment ofFig. 1, parts thereof being broken away to showdetails of the manner ofapplication of the im proved clamping hook construction; v

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical view, look ing into theforward fractured portion of Fig. 2, showing in enlarged detail thedisposition and utilization" of one of theim'proved hooks of theimproved construction, the illustrated embodiment of the hook being representative of tlieutilization and application of all of the clampinghooks embodying the structural characteristics of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is aside elevation, partly in section, of an improvedcable-clamping hook of the present invention;

Fig; 5 is anen'd' elevation of the hook of Fig. 4, looking towards theright as viewed in Fig. 4, as indicated by thearrow;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of complemental clamping wedges used inconjunction with the improved cableclamping hook;-

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of one of the clamping wedges shown in Fig.6, looking at the inside surface thereof;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the clamping hook struc-- ture' shown inFig'. 4;

Fig; 9 is a side elevation, similar to Fig. 4, but shoW-' inga-som'ewhatmodified form of the hook.

Referring more particularly to the drawingswhich illustrateschematically launching of an articulated mat tress A from deck B of alaunching scow 0, having an upstanding-toggle beam assembly D on itsfront-end,- and there is shown as part of the launching equipment-aten:- sioning winch E on the deck B, which winch is employed formaintaining'tension on the upstream lateral blocks of the" revetment.Such tension is applied as will be hereinafter described by a repetitionof such tensionihg; winches asmay be desired or required to impart adequate tension to such upstream side blocks of the revetment forpreventing lifting thereof and folding of such blocks backwards withrespect to the remainder of the" revetment, under action of rapidlyflowing stream currents-.

The revetment A isco'mposed of flexibly interconnected concrete blocksit), which are interconnected both I 'ngi: tudinally and transversely byflexible reinforcing cables or fabric (not shown), the revetment A beingprovidedwith* longitudinally extending flexible launching: cables .12whichare: disposed at suitably spaced intervalsbe: tween longitudinallyextending courses of such blocks; Such launching cables 12 are payed ontfrom reelsf nat shown) which carry the reeled-up revetment sections ormattresses, and which are secured either to the deck of the launchingbarge or to the shore, the launching barge or scow C being moored oranchored transversely of the stream currents. These launching cables 12are intersected by transverse flexible tensioning cables 14 which arespaced at suitable equal intervals.

Any tendency of lateral or marginal upstream blocks 10 to become liftedby rapidly flowing water currents is overcome in the presentconstruction by maintaining the transversely-extending cables 14 and thelaunching cables 12 under sufficient tension to overcome any suchlifting or buckling forces exerted by the currents on the upstreamblocks. in practice, the launching cables and transverse tensioningcables are approximately 3 1 inch in diameter and are composed of sevenstrands of spirally-wound strands of flexible wire, these dimensions andstructure being noted for purposes of illustration only.

The improvements of the present invention include an improved type ofcable clamping hook for interconnecting the aforesaid launching cablesand transverse tensioning cables. Reference at this point may be made tothe structure of this improved clamping hook shown in Figs. 4 through 9,which is adapted to be applied to the aforesaid cables which aredisposed at right angles to each other.

Each of the improved cable-clamping hooks, which is indicated generallyat F, is an integral structure including a clamping eye 16 having aconically tapered hole 18 extending therethrough and a clamping hookportion 20, the hook element 22 diverging from the eye portion 16 in thedirection of convergence of conical hole 13, thereby forming a clampingrecess 24 between the hook (clamping jaw) element 22 and the lower partof cylindrical clamping eye 16. The hooks F are recessed at 26 to form atapered guide recess for guiding insertion of cable 14 into the clampinghole 18 in the clamping eye portion 16 of the integral clamping hook F.

For clamping the eye portion 16 of the integral clamping hook structureF onto the cable 14, there are provided a pair of compiemental clampingwedges 28 which are identical in construction, and which are taperedexteriorly to correspond to the interior taper of the clamp ing hole 18into which the wedges 28 are adapted to be inserted, as shown in Fig. 3,each of the wedges 28 having a corresponding corrugated channel 29extending therethrough, the corrugations in each channel being spirallydisposed to correspond to the spiral winding of the strands of thelaunching and tensioning cables of the revetment, the wedges 28 wheninserted in the clamping opening 18 through eye portions 16 of the clamping hooks between cables 14- and the inner periphery or surface ofclamping holes 18 being pulled increasingly tightly against the cables14 as the cables are tensioned towards the right as viewed in Figs. 1,2, and 3.

For application of current-resisting tension to the launching cables 11.and the transversely-extending tensioning cables 14, a series of togglecables 30 is provided, each of the toggle cables 3% being anchored invertical toggle-beam assembly D by means of a Washer 32 secured to aninner end of each cable 30 which extends to such washer 32 through slot34 extending verti cally between compiernental channels 35 of thevertical toggle-beam assembly.

As will be seen from Fig. 1, this vertical toggle-beam assembly ismounted on the outer end of launching scow C by means or" mountingbrackets 33 from which extend bracing arms at), which are connected toflange or collar elements 42 into which are received the complementalchannels 36 of the toggle-beam assembly, the flanges 42 enclosing thechannels 3% except for slot 34 which is open at both its top and bottomends and which continues uninterruptedly throughout its length whichcorresponds to the height of the channels 36, these latter beingprovided with lifting brackets 42 interconnected by a lifting pin 44adapted to be engaged by a lifting hook on the end of a lifting boom orthe like (not shown). The channels 36 are held in position by means ofstop pins 46 that extend laterally from the channels 36 and engageagainst the top flange elements 42.

The outer, or free, end of each toggle cable 30 is formed into aneye-loop 48, the end of which is clamped against its toggle cable bymeans of a conventional cable clamp 50.

it will be seen that each transverse tensioning cable 14 is extendedsubstantially beyond the upstream side of the revetment to form a freeend portion 14 which is sufiiciently long to be formed into a free endloop 52, clamped by a conventional cable clamp 54 for receiving a hoot;56 carried by the free end loop 58 of winch-cable (it). Each of thetransverse cables 14 is sufficiently long to extend across a desirednumber of launching cables 12, for example, three thereof, counting fromthe outside launching cable extending along the upstream side of therevetment mattress, there being provided a clamping hook of the presentimproved type foreach intersection of the launching cables and thetensioning cables.

Thus, where the tensioning cables 14 extend across three launchingcables, there Will be provided for each of the resulting threeintersections, one of the improved clamping hooks, the inmost or firstof which clamping hooks is clamped to both tcnsioning cable and itsintersecting launching cable by threading the tensioning cable 14through clamping hole 18 and inserting clamping wedges 28 intermediatethe tensioning cable and the inner surface of the clamping hole 18, andthe launching cable is received in the clamping recess 24 of theclamping hook. The tensioning cable is threaded through the clampinghole 18 of each of the successive clamping hooks, which, however, areleft loose for the time being.

The clamped hook is inserted into its crack of the articulated revetmentmattress, as designated at 62, the free end of the cable 14 being passedthrough loop 48 of toggle cable 30, end loop 52 being formed at the freeend of the cable 14 and secured over hook 56 on winch cable 60, thewinch E then being operated to tension the cable 14. The remaining clamphooks are clamped on the remaining launching cables '12 and tightened onthe transverse cable 14 after being pressed into the said crack of thearticulated mattress, as indicated at 64 and 66, and are clamped on thecable 14 as has been described above. This tensioned cable 14 then ispressed against the leading or upstream launching cable and securedthereto by one or more of conventional type of clamps 63. When thetensioned cable 14 is secure, the winch E is slacked off, and excesslength of cable 14 is trimmed.

The eye loop 48 is on the downstream end of toggle cable 30, which is apreassembled length of toggle cable, the upstream end of which has beenanchored in a washer 32 and inserted into the toggle-beam assembly Dthrough the open top thereof with the end of the toggle cable adjacentto the Washer passing through slot 34. The washer 32 is substantiallywider than the slot 34, so that it cannot be pulled out of the slot. Thesaid slot runs the entire length of the toggle-beam assembly D, and isopen at both its top and bottom ends.

As the articulated revetment mattress A is launched from the scow C, thetransverse tensioning cables 14 and toggle cables 30 attached theretomove with the mattress as the latter is deposited from the barge or scowC, the movement causing the successive washers 32 to slide down to thebottom of the slot 34, eventually falling free onto the bottom of thestream. After each of the tensioning cables 14 has been tensioned bywinch E and the sections 14 have been clamped to the leading launchingcable as shown and the section 14' then severed from the winch E, theapplied tension in the cables 14 is maintained and augmented by thepressure of the current against the revetment mattress, thereby holdingthe toggle cables 30 in place and taut until they are released at thebottom of the toggle-beam assembly D.

It will be understood that the tensioning cables 14 may be applied tothe mattress in any number and at any spacing as may be required towithstand the velocity and turbulence of the stream at whatever theparticular location the revetment is being applied.

The modified construction of the clamping hook shown in Fig. 9 shows thehook structure 22 optionally serrated along its cable-engaging andclamping surface, as is indicated at 70 for increasing the clampingaction of the hook against the launching cables 12.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and wish tosecure by Letters Patent is:

A launching system for cont-rollably launching transversely of a streamcurrent articulated revetment mats having a plurality of spacedlongitudinally extending launching cables from a launching platformwhile preventing lifting and backward folding of upstream courses of themats under action of water currents in streams in which the mats arebeing placed for inhibiting erosion of embankments subject to watercurrent action, which comprises, in combination, a launching platform, aplurality of spaced transverse cables adapted to interconnect the saidspaced longitudinally extending launching cables, means for applyingtension to said launching cables, said tensioning means including avertically disposed togglebeam mounted on the launching platformadjacent to launching stations thereon, said toggle-beam having avertical longitudinal slot extending through the beam from top to bottomthereof, toggle cable means extending through said slot in said beam andconnected successively to a pair of transverse cables next to submerge,anchoring means cooperating with said slot for the toggle cable means inthe toggle beam, means connecting said toggle cable means to the pair ofsuccessive transverse cables next to submerge, the toggle cable meansand anchoring means being movable downwardly through the slot in thetoggle-beam responsive-1y to launching movement of the revetment mat, awinch mounted on said launching platform for laimching the revetmentmats, means releasably interconnecting eaoh upper cable of the pair oftransverse cables next to submerge to said winch for tensioning suchupper cable through the connecting means between the top toggle cablemeans and said transverse cable to apply tension to such transverse cable longitudinally thereof and in opposition to direction of streamflow, and clamping means adapted to permanently interconnect each lowercable of the pair of transverse cables next to submerge to the leadinglaunching cable through the connecting means between the toggle ca'blemeans "and the said lower transverse cab-1e, thereby continuouslymaintaining the tension applied by the tensioning means to each uppercable of the pair of transverse cables next to submerge.

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